


The Polar Express

by Infinitely_Odd



Series: A Very Night Vale Christmas [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Carlos-centric, Cecil Palmer is Described, Cecil Palmer is a Ghost, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Plot/Plotless, Non-Human Cecil Palmer, POV Carlos (Welcome to Night Vale), Romantic Fluff, polar express au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27473662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infinitely_Odd/pseuds/Infinitely_Odd
Summary: Carlos is the conductor upon the Polar Express. He may be infatuated with Cecil, an omnipotent voice that acts as the soul of the train. Cecil may or may not be dead/may or may not exist. Carlos loves him anyways.A Polar Express AU
Relationships: Carlos/Cecil Palmer
Series: A Very Night Vale Christmas [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2007469
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	The Polar Express

**Author's Note:**

> enjoyyyy merry december

The train chugged steadily through the night, the countryside illuminated by the gentle light from the full moon above them. Carlos stood at the very rear end of the train, watching the rails vanish into the night and his breath create clouds in the air. The Polar Express shot through the night, despite giving off light itself, no one seemed to notice. Carlos liked being inconspicuous, despite being the conductor of the train and having arguably the most prominent role on the train. The driver never left his quarters, so it was up to Carlos to keep things in order, and up to Cecil to keep him in order.

As if on cue, snowflakes began to swirl around the rail that kept Carlos from falling off, they grew thicker and flew faster until a shape began to form. As soon as it had started, the snowflakes vanished, and a man, about six foot tall, sat on the rail with his legs crossed. "Hello dear Carlos, how are you this fine evening?"

Carlos snorted, resting his elbows on the rail and tilting his head at Cecil. "I'm fine, Cec, and you?"

"I'm well as always," He replied, his voice deep as the night. Every time he spoke, the wind seemed to whisper his words along with him. Cecil has been on the train longer than Carlos had, and longer than the previous conductor had too. He was as old as the train itself, and becoming conductor of the train was a package deal. If you wanted to manage the train, you had to put up with Cecil. In some ways, Cecil was the train. He knew when it needed maintenance, when it needed more fuel, what it was feeling. At first, Carlos thought it was- to be quite frank, bullshit- but the more time he spent with Cecil and the Polar Express, the more he realised that Cecil reflected the train. He was the soul of the train, without Cecil, the Polar Express wouldn't be the same.

"And how are this year's children?"

"You know, it sounds very strange to hear you say that." 

Cecil laughed, bending so far back Carlos thought he might fall off the edge. "I am strange, Carlos, I thought we had been over that." He replied, with a twinkle in his violet eyes. 

"That is true," Carlos said, turning his attention off Cecil to the path behind them. "There's a good few this year. No spoiled brats, no goody-two-shoes, just perfectly nice children. Santa will have a hard time picking one out for the first present." 

Cecil hummed, tapping his chin. "What do you think about them?" Carlos asked. 

There was a moment of silence, Carlos could almost feel Cecil's shock. "What does my opinion matter?" 

Carlos turned back to Cecil. His eyes were wide, and his head tilted to the side. His silver hair fluttered in the air as the train sped up, the longer he looked at Carlos, the more he didn't want to ever look away again. "Your opinion matters to me." He said, staring as hard as he could to make Cecil believe him, hoping that they'd manage to reach Cecil's heart. _You matter to me_. A small smile grew on Cecil's thin face, blossoming into a wide grin that had him turning away from the conductor with what (Carlos hoped, at least) was a sparkling blush over his cheeks. 

"My my! Carlos, that's awfully bold of you!" Cecil cooed, pushing himself forward until he was leaning on the rail on his stomach, one hand keeping his chin up and with his long, thin legs in the air. 

Words caught in Carlos's throat, causing him to splutter and choke. "I- I- You know your opinion matters to me, Cecil."

This seemed to sober the other man up, "It never really occurred to me that it did." He said, avoiding Carlos's line of sight.

Carlos's chest clenched, "I'll be sure to say it more often, then." 

The moon rose higher in the sky, letting Carlos know that it was nearing ten o'clock at night. He checked his pocket watch, fortunately, they were still on time to make it before midnight struck. The scenery around them had changed from the suburbs to the countryside, houses had been replaced by forests, roads replaced with rivers and frozen streams. Carlos strained to look upwards, hoping to see the northern lights, but they weren't far enough north yet. He sighed, and placed his pocket watch back into his pocket.

"I think they're good children," Cecil said, still avoiding Carlos's inquisitive look. "Reminds me of when I was a child myself."

"And how long ago was that?" It was rare that Cecil brought up his age.

Carlos's companion smiled, "Old enough. But enough about that. The train likes them, so that's good enough for me." Cecil grinned, rolling over onto his back. "They are filled to the brim with the Christmas spirit- the big man will be pleased."

"Everything pleases him."

"Well, he'll be super-duper pleased this year! I can guarantee it. Just watch they don't go walkabout again, we can't have a repeat of last year-" He was interrupted by Carlos swatting at him, rolling to get out of the conductors reach, though Carlos knew his hand would just go straight through Cecil. The man rolled off the side of the train, reappearing behind Carlos, hanging off the ladder to the left that gave him access to the roof of the train. 

"You're a menace, Cecil. You know that was an accident." 

Cecil winked, "Doesn't make it any less funny. I wish I could have seen the boss's face when three kids fell out of his bag of presents." He wiped an imaginary tear off his face with a finger, "oh...classic!" 

"Why don't you come this year?" Carlos asked, ignoring how close they were- or trying to at least. Cecil was an attractive man, to say the least, and they were so close, almost eye to eye where Cecil was hanging down like a gymnast. It was never in his nature to be unprofessional, absolutely not, but Carlos had never wanted more than to kiss Cecil then and there. His lips were so close, the palest pink he had ever seen. His skin glittered like it was covered in a layer of thin frost, his eyes, that had seen more than Carlos could ever imagine, pierced his very soul. Carlos had never wanted anything, or anyone, more in his entire life. If the train were to crash, and he was to die, he knew he wouldn't regret a thing. The fact that he had existed in Cecil's presence, got to look into that gaze of his, got to see his smiles and the pearly tears he sometimes shed, got to see how their breaths mingled together in the cold night air made his life worth it.

Only a moment later, Cecil kissed him, and Carlos was sure that he'd died.

It was a little awkward, Cecil was still upside down, so their lips didn't align properly. But Cecil's lips were surprisingly warm, his eyes slowly closed and he placed a cold hand on the back of Carlos's head and tangled his fingers into the curly locks. It was simple, just a press of the lips, but even that small gesture made Carlos's heart thump heavily in his chest. After a second, he pulled back, tanned skin flushed slightly and eyes lidded, he stumbled backwards on weak knees grasping the rail like a lifeline. If the railing hadn't been there, Carlos knew he would have fallen straight off the platform. Cecil winked and dismounted off the ladder, stepping towards Carlos with a look in his eye that the conductor couldn't decipher. 

"Cecil, I-" Cecil's hands came up to cup his face and silenced him with another innocent kiss. 

"Don't speak," Cecil said, pulling away for a moment and gazing at Carlos as if he were the most precious thing in the world. His eyes were soft, a small smile played on his lips, and Carlos found himself pinned by that look. "Just feel, Carlos." 

Carlos surged forward, holding Cecil's face gently, but trying to convey everything he felt into that moment. Trying to stuff an infinity into a singular moment. Eventually, each pulled away, Carlos considerably more out of breath than Cecil was. They didn't dare stray too far from each other, eyes closed and breathing the same air. "I love you," Carlos whispered against Cecil's lips. 

"I love you too," Cecil said, pressing slow, luxurious kisses to the corner of Carlos's mouth. They kissed as if they had all the time in the world, they were inside a snowglobe, watching as the world moved around them, uncaring of anything that happened. All they needed was each other. Carlos's pocket watch began to ring, he sighed and clicked the face open, glaring at the clock hands. 

"My my, I've corrupted you. You used to be so punctual!" Cecil teased, tapping Carlos's nose gently.

"You bring out the best and worst in me, Cecil. I'm going to be late because of you..." 

"I'd never let you be late, never," Cecil said, cupping Carlos's face gently with his hands. The two slowly stepped away from each other, and Carlos straightened his hat. He pushed the door open and strode inside, brushing the leftovers of snow from his shoulders. "You let me be late last year, do you know how embarrassing that was, Cecil?" 

In the empty carriage, Cecil's laughter echoed around him, bouncing off the walls and making Carlos feel warm and fuzzy despite the freezing temperatures. "That was one time!" Cecil laughed, as Carlos pulled open the door to the next carriage and walked inside. The change in temperature was noticeable, it was boiling. One of the kids must have messed with the thermostat- normally Carlos would scold them, but Carlos could still Cecil's lips on his, and suddenly it didn't matter so much. It was cold outside after all. 

A second later, Carlos took out his stamp and began to walk towards the occupied seats. Six children sat on the plush red leather seats, three on the left and three on the right. The floors were pristine red carpet with gold accents, the same pattern as the curtains, and each child held a shiny golden ticket. 

_Hello, my dearest children, this is Cecil here. Any moment now Carlos the conductor will be making his rounds to stamp your tickets. Make sure you have them ready for him, he doesn't like being late you know. If you can't find your ticket, check your pockets over and over, I'm sure it'll be in there somewhere! Now, after that, we have some hot chocolate ready to serve!_

The children cooed, handing over their tickets. They were too busy marvelling over their tickets, handed back to them with half a word stamped into the gold in little dots- thanks to Carlos- to notice that Cecil's voice wasn't tinny like he was speaking over a tannoy, instead it felt as if Cecil was everywhere. His voice was rich, clear, and as if he were sitting inside their eardrums talking away. No one seemed to mind, and with the last ticket stamped, Carlos moved through the carriage to notify the cooks that hot chocolate was due. 

Before he left, he felt a distinct pressure on his cheek, followed by a beautiful and familiar laugh. But when he turned around, no one was there. Still, he smiled and moved on. He had a schedule to keep to, and Cecil would never let him be late.

**Author's Note:**

> so, you know how theres that homeless guy who lives on top of the polar express and its basically canon that he's a ghost. yeah I headcanon (on my own works lol) that cecil died on the train and basically became its protector. so, sorta like canon, but not quite
> 
> hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> merry chrysler


End file.
